Phillies Fall Short as Yankees win World Series

Remember the chilly April, the awesome May, the blistering July, and the September that sealed it up. Remember the death of a legend. Remember the thrilling comebacks, the five all-stars, and a third straight division crown. Remember the late night’s against the Rockies, the “Beat LA” chants, and everything in between.

Remember it all; store it away for the long, cold winter, because this year was a success no matter how you look at it.

The Philadelphia Phillies lost this game 7-3, and in the process relinquished their spot at the top. However, they never stopped fighting. From minute one of the 2009 season, this team has fought until it could no longer fight, and in this case, the final fight came in Game 6 of the World Series.

For the 27th time in their history, the New York Yankees took home the title, with Hideki Matsui taking the World Series MVP. It was a hell of a series, and a hell of a season for the Yankees who finished with 114 wins combining the regular season and playoffs. Phillies Nation congratulates them on fine season.

As for the Phillies, there will certainly be questions abound as to how things will change in the offseason. The core of this team is intact for yet another run, so while this loss stings, they have the make up to do it one more time.

A wise man once said, “all good things come to an end.” It’s an amazing feat that the Phillies made it back to the World Series a year after winning the whole thing. Next year, this team will regroup and give it everything they have to try and get to yet another World Series.

To sum up this season, it’s hard to complain about what this club was able to accomplish. Overall, 102 wins is nothing to shake a stick at, so cherish all of the great moments this 2009 Phillies team gave us.

The Phillies will be back next season, and with them will come the same tenacity, passion, and energy they brought for all of 2009. High hopes, everyone.

@Manny, cheer up boy. You know what they say. Some things in life are bad. They can really make you made, other things just make you swear and curse. When you’re chewing on life’s gristle, don’t grumble, give a whistle, and this will help things turn out for the best….

Ah, this hurts. It really does. But honestly, despite the fact that our season didn’t end in a parade, we still all had a great freaking time – at least I know I did. This team really brought our city together; whether it was to watch Ryan Howard blast another home run or to cringe as Brad Lidge blew another game, we all came together and had one hell of a ride.

I feel absolutely terrible about tonight, but things will get better. This spring.

In the meantime, I will continue to love this team with all of my heart.

Nicely written, Pat. I will never forget this team or this season..it’s been a lot of fun. And I think we should all sit back and take a second to appreciate the incredible run this team is on. Never before in franchise history has there been such a string of success. We can only hope that they’re on the road to building a winning tradition here. I envision a franchise where we’re no longer surprised by excellence, but we expect it. A place where players want to come and play, because they know that year in and year out they have a chance to compete for a world championship. Nothing breeds success like previous success, and let’s just hope that these past two seasons put us on the path to being one of the marquee teams in all of baseball, right up there with the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers.

Hard to be upset with a team that has won the last 2 NL pennants and the world series last year. The Yankees are simply a better team because Hamels and Lidge are both terrible now. The phils will be back next year. 2 out of 3 isnt bad.

You guys are class acts. The Phils had a tremendous year, and the front office demonstrated its smarts in bringing in both Lee and (despite a couple mistakes tonight) Martinez. This team is likely to only improve, as its core of talent is in its prime at the plate and getting better in the field. Phillies fans should be looking at a team that will contend for another few years, at least.

My condolonces to my friends here in this forum.At least you won the NL Pennant and are the best team in The NL.Saying that youse guys must look at this Fall Classic and winning the Pennant must feel like you swalled a can of Draino….sure it will clean you out,but it will leave you with a hollow feeling inside for not winning.And to ALL the leetches and imbecile so called Fellow Amazins fans PUT A SOCK IN IT! We didn’t win either so we have no say in laughing at the Phillies and their fans.Oh and Georgie REMEMBER only 98 more days til Pitchers and catchers.

I told my Phillies guy this very thing in an email tonight. My team beat the best team in baseball tonight. The Phillies are a long term keeper who have moved themselves into October conversations for years to come.

My team had the Phils down by four runs with the indomitable Rivera in to shut it down, and I was absolutely crapping my pants off my legs until Cano settled that grounder into Tex’s glove.

I would never admit this to my son, but I didn’t think we’d beat you guys. You’re that good. Better even.

I’m disappointed the Phils didn’t repeat. But this doesn’t sting as much as past Philly teams that have fallen short.

One reason is because we won it last year. Another is because we proved — by returning to the series — that last year wasn’t a fluke. And because I know this team will be title contenders for at least another two years.

Congrats to the Yankees. Hate to see them win it, but they have a great team and they earned it by beating the defending champs.

Phils just weren’t as fortunate this year. Bullpen problems did them in. If we had the Lidge of last year, we probably win this series.

@Morris, you know, that makes a lot of sense and actually explains a lot. I’m half, myself, I know a lot of Irish people. It is very difficult for me to adopt a Tracey-like mindset; I can tend to be negative as hell. What was it that Matt Damon said in the Departed? Something like “I’m Irish. I’ll deal with something being wrong with me for the rest of my life.”

This is the email my best friend left for me after the game. He is a die hard Mets fan. He did not care either way. Read below.

What a pathetic performance by the Phillies tonight. Why did they bother to drive down the turnpike. NOt even close, Pedro stunk and they couldn’t score any runs. A good team finds a way to beat Rivera. How many scoreless innings did he pitch this series and how old is he now, 50. Without Lee you guys would have been swept. Not impressed.

I don’t post very often but I do come to the site and read the articles regularly, and I just want to say thanks to all those that run this site for another fantastic season. Its been a pleasure to read them and occasionally banter with a few of you guys from time to time. Finally, I want to say while I am disappointed, if someone was to tell me 14 months ago that the Phillies would win the World Series, then win the Pennant the following season, I’d have taken it in a heartbeat. Thanks again guys, can’t wait till next season!

I simply agree. Howard and Rollins were horrible. Jimmy should just shut his mouth for once. Victorino and Ibanez I am still looking for them. We had no pitching except for Lee. Manuel got out managed by a nobody. We need a bullpen, a bench and a couple more starters. Hamels has no heart and he showed it. Granted the Yankees have some clutch hitters but we were the better team. We let a 40 year old guy go out and pitch in the biggest game of our lives. He wasnt even with us for most of the season. What a darn shame.

This was a great season and a lot of fun to watch even though we fell 2 wins short of the ultimate goal. Like others have said though, the Phillies have won 3 division titles, 2 pennants, and 1 World Series in the past 3 years. That’s pretty good! And you know what the best part is? This is only the beginning!

I can’t wait for next year! Keep your heads up. We’ve got high hopes! Next year is going to be great!

Its strange to be at this point now, since its been since the Rockies unceremoniously swept the Phillies in 2007 that we can say the season has ended on a loss. I’m usually a guy that has a hard time being positive when things go bad…I wonder what I have to do to make things right. Tonight though, I feel an odd sense of calm. I know this team gave it their all. They battled they scrapped, clawed and fought. In the end that is all I want from MY team. I am proud to be a Phillies fan and I am proud to finish second. There is no shame in that. One thing I’m sure of is that I NEVER want to be accused of being anything like a Yankee fan. Would I love to win every year? Sure, but i want to do it the right way and I want to identify and fall head over heels for MY team. I live in the NYC area and I was in a Philly bar where there happened to be two Yankee fans hanging out after they got their big lead. They poked and prodded and wanted nothing more than to antagonize. That is the kind of attitude that Philly fans have been branded with but have never earned. Walking down the streets I was heckled (and you thought you guys could hang – crooned some drunk fool). The thing is, the Phillies did hang and they did it with 70mil less on their payroll. All I ask of Yankee fans, when the dust settles, is to admit that without CC, AJ and Tex there is no way they win this thing. The rules are the rules and the Phillies play by them too but a Yanks fan that can’t admit that is a Yanks fan that has blinders on.

I want to thank everyone on this blog (contributors & commentors) for countless hours of thought provoking and entertaining banter and prose. I’m so proud to be a part of a fanbase such as ours and I can’t wait to spend the offseason gearing up for another run!

It didn’t come across in my previous post but I do want to congratulate the Yankees. All they can do is play with the team on the field and despite the obvious talent they still had to make the plays and beat a team that absolutely deserved to be there. I would have liked to see more humility from them and their fans but nonetheless they are now the World Champs. The target is now on their backs and we have the sights already set!

Enjoy the 2 straight NL pennants. Enjoy this great team. There are about 7 million people alive today who wont be in one years time. It could be anyone reading this. Enjoy this. Great year.
Congrats to the Philadelphia Phillies on back to back pennants and a world series title. No guarentee any of us will be back for next years world series. Have a drink. Think about the wins and the tough loses. Enjoy yourselves.

Al – actually JRoll said 5 games. If you want to spend your time talking sh*t on our blog rather than celebrating with your friends then at least get your insults right. Enjoy the feeling and savor it with people you care about. Don’t take it for granted and try being gracious and classy – since that is what New Yorkers supposedly are. Congrats.

They need to find a new third basemen and get hamels to figure things out if he was half of who he was last year we’d won and get more help on the bench francisco is ther only good bat on the bench and get more help in the bullpen.

@Marco-Congrats on winning, and thanks for not being like a lot of other Yankee fans who have come to this site and a few others I read to just talk trash and be an overall dumb@ss.

Next year is our best shot, with our ages and the fact that it will likely be Lee’s last year as a Phillies…Lee, Hamels, Happ, Blanton, and Drabek? And so long, Pedro Feliz…I like his glove, but it’s not as good as advertised, and he has virtually no bat to speak of…

We have some needs we have to address for next year, but I’m gonna take a few days off without thinking about those things.

The original poster was a class act but many posts show the classless nature of Philly the city. The Yanks never once chanted Phillies suck and the illogical nonsense some phills fans live by.

We wouldnt win without CC? What does that actually mean? The only pitcher that could beat us was a gun for hire paid after you already had a 132 million dollar payroll–a team with the most losses in history.

Yanks dont buy success–they reaped the benefits of it. We had 8 guys from the farm on the field tonight–Phils had what? Our guys are overpaid and you actually had us beat at almost every position which proves that. Now you want MORE talent? What? You gonna spend as much as a franchise who won 40 pennants and has been in 1 out of every 2 WS? How do you justify spending any where near a team like that? You see, its just pathetic how illogical you are and how unwilling to accept that the Yanks are something special.

Great season. Your team didnt lose cause it sucked. It just lost because it didnt execute. You had the players–as I said one scout rated only 1 yank position player over the Phills. You just as easily could have won. Your team really had no right trying to buy the WS. Get some success first to justify spending money because money doesnt buy the WS

John – as your comments are directed at mine I would like to respond. There is a very simple and easy answer here. What did the Yankees do last year? No playoffs. What did they do in the offseason? They signed the 3 most highly sought after and prized free agents on the market. They played well, executed and won a WS. All I’m saying is that those players are the difference. I also recognize that the Phillies spend money too, compared to most teams in baseball they send a lot. However, the Yankees are on another level. That is the way baseball is structured and that won’t change. However, until I hear a Yankee fan admit that money plays a major part in their success over the past few decades I will be unable to take them seriously. That is all I ask – a little honesty and humility.

If you want to do the math you might find that the % of free agents to homegrown guys is about the same between these two teams. The difference is that the Phillies (much like the Yankees of the late 90’s) built this team from within (Howard, Utley, Rollins, Hamels, Happ, Myers, Ruiz) and after it started winning they brought in complementary pieces to round out the team. Werth and Victorino were FA’s but they were not starters. The Phillies made them into those players.

I would love to have a civil and levelheaded argument on this subject in the future but right now I would hope that true Yankee fans would have something better to do and somewhere better to be than on a Phillies blog at 2:30 in the morning after they just won a World Series.

CZ – Indeed. The Yankees play the game right way and do the fundemental things they need to when the law averages isn’t on their side, that’s is the put themselves in a postition to improve their odds. I think we knew and I’m sure some of their more reasonable fans that for us to do this Hamels would have to somehow return to form or the offense would have to remain on the tear that it did to get to the play offs. Watching the BP pull itself out the ashes and the line-up have more strategic approaches at the plate definitely gave me hope that we could win, but it was clear by game two that Howard’s loopy swings at Burnett’s curve ball meant he was about to slump. Then the abysmal Hamels start and the bull pen collapse in game 4. Well even if we won tonight…who knows, but I doubt we could have won the next one. Unfortunately we faced off against the team we wanted but lacked all the pieces to win. Just bad timing that Lidge and Hamels had off years.

this series loss is such an alien feeling to me as a Philadelphia sports fan. To tell the truth, I’m not nearly as crushed as I feel like I probably should be. The pain from this isn’t anything close to that of the eagles championship game losses, or the sixers loss in the finals in 2001. or the flyers loss in the cup finals to the red wings way back when. probably because this phillies team actually captured the glory and gave us a real taste of it. not only that, but they defended their crown honorably . couple that thought with the fact that teams almost never repeat.

Congrats to the Yanks. Tough way to lose, we never were really in that last game.

To John…um yes, you did buy it, at the very least in part. Two thirds of your World Series rotation were purchased this offseason, not to mention your 1B stud you also went out and purchased. Who starts if you didn’t just go out and purchase the top two SPs on the market this offseason? Are Hughes and Joba in the rotation? But, just because you bought it doesn’t mean it was a less deserved win, or that you shouldn’t enjoy it. The win was a total team effort on the part of the pinstripes, clutch hits and timely pitching were all in abundance. Mo is great too….a major difference was Lidge vs. Rivera.

Pettitte is awesome, props to him for being nails this late in his career on three days rest.

Im glad most people on here are not acting like the Yankees Sore Winners. Congratulations to the Yankees. They are a great team, they are the best time money can buy. They wanted a Championship, took advantage of having damn near unlimited spending money and went to get the best players available. They played well, but the Phillies did NOT quit! They took it to game 6 for the first time in 5 some odd years. They are also the first NL team to go to back to back WS in over a decade. Not a bad feat. I am proud of this team for not quiting. Quiting would have been losing it in the 6th game in NY rather than Game 5 in Philly. Most of everyone figured the Phillies would roll over and die in game 5 because they were down 3-2, but they didnt. The team has some obvious needs. Hamels is a question mark, Happ hopefully will come back strong, Blanton was pretty consitent, Moyer will come back but a year older, after being injured, and really shouldnt be relied upon, Martinez is done I believe. Closer, Lidge sucked this season, Madson clearly was a not a Closer, bullpen should be ok, most of the BP problems were injuries, and yet through all the turmoil and bad press and injuries, they still made it back tot he WS. Im pleased overall. I would have much rather won, but can you really be pissed off with 2 straight NL pennants? I can’t. Disappointed of course, but this has been fun. All great things must come to an end, I just hope this wasnt the end. Depends on the off season moves as it pertains to pitching. Look at it this way, several teams in the last few years since they went to the WS (win or lose) didnt even make it back to the playoffs the following year, (Cardinals and Rays come to mind right away). Actually since the Cardinals won the WS, they havent been past the 1st round of the playoffs since. This is a great team, and I hope to get a 4th straight NL East first and foremost, but the Phillies have bullseye on their back with the Braves and Marlins really wanting to de-throne the Phillies. Lets hope this has another year or two left in them. I think they should, but its not a certainty.

Not like I really want to get dive deep into the buying the WS or not, but if you look at Sabathia, Pettite and Texiera, they are all great players, but non of them wanted to be on the East coast. Pettite wanted to re-join Joe Torre, Sabathia wanted to be in CA, I forget where Tex said he wanted to be, and Im not sure about Burnett. Had there been a salary cap, or the Yankees didnt throw ridiculous amounts of money at them, they wouldnt have been there. That had a HUGE part in winning. That is really borderline between fact and opion, and VERY FINE line. But fact is they still needed to execute. They did and the majority of the Phillies did not. I am a Phillies fan and like it or not, the better team did win sadly. I can admit it. Clearly better? I dont think clearly, but overall better. IMO not by much.

Stay classy, Yankees fans! Because shouting “Who’s your daddy” at a guy who never knew his father is ALL class, way way way above chanting “Yankees Suck”.

Most of the NY fans posting here are class acts, and thank you for the kind words. We got outplayed in all facets of the game except Chase Utley and Cliff Lee.

To guys like Bob and John – You’re the reason your team is the most despised team in baseball. Arrogant with a sense of entitlement, so much so that on the eve of victory you have to log in to a Phillies blog to talk smack. And then you have the nerve to say Philly fans are bad. Enjoy your hollow, empty, shallow lives. This win for the Yankees was for the classy fans, and I hope they enjoy it.

And to address the “buying” debate — Let’s play a game of Monopoly. You start with 1,500 dollars and I’ll start with $70,001,500. That’s fair, right? No inequality there. I mean, you can still win the game, after all.

@Morris and Mike D: I’m not Irish; I’m Jewish, but we also have had more than our fair share of tragedy and have learned to deal with it in our own way: by making humor out of it.

I first became a partial season ticket holder in that awful 2000 season. I stayed until the end of the game in 40 degree weather, while they were suffering double-digit losses. They won only 2 our 16 scheduled games. They ended the season 30 games behind, just barely over .400. We said that we should write our season tickets off of our taxes as a charitable expense, supporting the handicapped. Certainly, we reasoned, we did not get anything of value in exchange for what we paid. But when the season ticket invoice came up in 2001, we re-upped. And we did it again and again. And when we started getting post-season options a few years later, I paid them, because who knew? I told the sales office on the phone, “I don’t think they’re going to make it, but if they do and I don’t have tickets, I’ll kick myself.” But they never made it. One year, they were so far behind that I didn’t bother to pay the invoice, because there was no way they were going to win the division. That was 2007. Oops. But they played so miserably in the NLDS that we had no regrets about missing it and saving $50 each on the tickets. Then came 2008, and though they were a few games behind when the time came to pay the postseason invoice, I didn’t hesitate. We got to see a World Series game, go to a parade, be there in the stadium when Chase Utley called us World Phucking Champions.

This season, I watched my Phils dominate the division for most of the year, and though they had slumps, it always seemed like they were going to do the impossible, win the World Series two years in a row. They ended 2 games shy of a feat that has not been accomplished in decades, and accomplished a feat that the Phillies have never done before (back-to-back World Series appearances). That’s nothing to be ashamed of. I will wear my Back-To-Back National League Champions t-shirt with pride while I buy the Turkey Hill Yankees ice cream for my friends at work this morning…

totally agree that the better team won – which makes it ok – think about how it owuld feel if we were clearly the better team and we just blew it – but we showed pretty well in this series under the circumstances!

one thing for sure – we cant play the yankees again and expect to win without a legit top end #2 between lee and hamels – and on top of that lee has to be extended and hamels has to work thru his problems and get his shit back together

we also cant play without a significantly better and more reliable bullpen – the only guy i had any conficence in this series and would like to see in a similar role next year is chan ho park! – as for lidge we just cant have him as the ONLY closer option as we saw this year – and im afraid that madson just doesnt have the make up to close or perform under this much pressure!

also should add a strong left fielder to go with ibanez – for the sake of platooning if necessary and for the sake of a much stronger bench – keeping in mind extent to which that guy is critical in the series in the american league parks as the dh

my son said – maybe this is just as well – bc last year was a little more exciting than this – we were fighting for something we wanted and didnt get – as opposed as fighting to preserve something – now were fighting for something we wanted but didnt get again – and our sights are clearly set on waht we have to do to accomplish that

finally – one last point! – the american league with the designated hitter will always have the slight edge in the world series – they put teams together to have 10 strong hitters – and they have 10 hitters who get 150 to 162 games of experience thru the season – so in their parks when we have to bat 10 they have a distinct advantage – we cant come up with that 10th who matches their 10th (hits well but doesnt necessarily play good defence) – in our park however they can of course just cut out their weakest player to get to 9! – oh well! – i always go with the underdogs anyway!!!

Maybe I’m a loser, but I never want to be in the position that if it doesn’t end with a ring, the season is a failure. Overall, a great year for the Phils. They’ve kept me entertained from April through early Nov – can’t ask for much more (well, maybe two more wins). So many highlights – too hard to process right now. Congrats to the Yanks, we’ll be back next year.

It’s simple guys and gals. The Phillies lost to a team that executed and probably, was better overall. The Phillies had some weaknesses and the post season is designed among other things to expose them. The fact that the Phillies got back to the Series as easily as they did shows how much better they are than the rest of the National League. Not something to be ashamed of. Sure there is some work to be done. Personally, I am fine with Lidge being the closer next year. I also think Hamels will improve. Maybe he will never be the 20 win ace that we want him to be but he can be a very good number 2 guy. As much as I would love the Phillies to sign a guy like Chone Figgins and have him lead off and move Rollins down to 6th, I honestly think I would rather they go after a guy like Beltre, at least then they have 2 right handed batters with some pop. Rollins just needs to spend this off season learning how to be a good lead off hitter. He does not need to hit 300 but he does need to learn how to work a count and get on base more. As for pitching. I would love for them to extend Lee but I am telling you right now it won’t happen. What he did in the post season jacked up his price tag big time. They can’t afford him. I’d like to see Blanton back, don’t forget about Moyer, though I don’t think he is the answer, he is still under contract. Same with Happ and we also have Drabek to consider.

The bench and the bullpen are the biggest weaknesses and hopefully the front office which showed it can make some brilliant moves as well not make some moves that clearly need to be made.

Although I am disappointed with how the season ended I am certainly not disappointed with the team. Getting back to the Series a year after winning it is an accomplishment that a handful of teams have ever done, the Phillies are now one of those teams. Be grateful and be happy. It may take a day or two to get there, but get there. Being miserable and angry won’t carry you through the next 151 days until opening day. In the worlds of the immortal Arnold “I’ll be back.” And they will be.

First and foremost, congrats to the Yankees. We simply lost to the better team. As to the classy Yankees fans on here, thank you for being so. This was the World Series we all secretly wanted to see and yes, losing does hurt. Alot. However, what makes me angriest is the apparant lack of class of the entire Yankees organization and their fans. (Not all of you). Example #1: chanting who’s your daddy at a man who doesn’t even know his father. I understand it’s a joke-but really? And what about the “Thank you Phillies” chant they going on there at the end? Not to mention that not ONE person, from Selig to Girardi to anyone on the team said congrats to the Phillies.

It’s hard NOT to believe that the lack of salary cap played a huge part in this World Series. However, Philly is no secondary market. We have plenty of money as well; we simply have a notoriously stingy organization. We could have bought the talent as well.

Bottom line is: we did not show up to this World Series. After the first game I saw a complete lack of heart and fight on our end. It’s no coincidence that the two games we did win were pitched by Cliff Lee. Many questions will have to be answered during this offseason; however, I feel as if this is only the beginning for the Phillies.

Also, please tell me something is going to be done about those umps. The past 6 games, I’ve seen some of the worst calls I have seen in baseball.

ON the other hand, I am annoyed at baseball with the lack of respect our boys got during this post season. We were the returning champs, and they were not on TNT until the Series. Philly is a big market believe it or not. anyhow enough about that.

I watched the entire celebration and one thing stuck out to me from last year. The Phillies started their 28 years of long waited celebration with congratulating the Rays on a great series and a great season.
The Yankees were all about me, me and more me. I guess just a very different organization with different pressures. That would be why I would never support a classless team like them. Great players, great team, but just classless winners. My take, I am sad for my team but not really bitter, just think its interesting watch different organizations and how they prioritize their acknowledgments.
Thoughts?

Great season. Your team didnt lose cause it sucked. It just lost because it didnt execute. You had the players–as I said one scout rated only 1 yank position player over the Phills. You just as easily could have won. Your team really had no right trying to buy the WS. Get some success first to justify spending money because money doesnt buy the WS

This will go down as one of the most moronic comments of all time. They bought arod and sabathia, burnett, just in the past year. The phillies traded talent for lee. They signed a modest player in ibanez, not a superstar. Werth was a castoff that the yankees didn’t even want. Yes, the yankees do have homegrown talent, but unlike most teams, the yankees have the HUGE advantage of being able to KEEP their talent while at the same time signing away OTHER people’s talent. I’m serious when I say my son could build a great team like that on his playstation…lol…..I wasn’t even going to bring up the payroll or use any excuse why the phillies lost except the yankees were a better team, but then I see this moron who tries to turn it completely around and say the phillies tried to buy the world series. So the question is to john, as he previously posted…WHO REALLY TRIED TO BUY SUCCESS
It was really the most bizzaro post I’ve ever seen in my life. I guess he was trying to make himself feel better and trying to legitimize the yankees by posting that

I can’t believe we’re *still* arguing about whether the Yankees bought the championship. Of *course* they did. Saying “You still have to execute” is like saying to a racecar driver it doesn’t matter what kind of car you’re driving in the first place. …

Whatever.

Sometimes evil prevails.

We got a great season from a team that builds franchises the old-fashioned way: from the ground up.

Great season for the Phils, but to beat the Yankees they need to start operating like the Yankees. Sign Figgins and bat him leadoff. Rollins doesn’t help this team batting leadoff – he should be batting seventh. I know Ibanez is a local folk hero, but his future numbers will trend towards his second half rather than his first half. I’d move him even if it meant picking up part of his contract and then sign Matt Holliday to play left. My dream lineup for 2010:

Congratulations to the Yankees and thanks to the Phillies for a great year!!!

Yes, it was a painful outcome, but we all know that if the Phils had truly played as they are capable of, they could just as easily have been the ones hoisting the trophy at the end. Most of their WS series losses could have been games won, a bitter realization but also one that should give us hope. The honest Yankees fans that I know were nervous before the Series started, knowing that the Phils offense is so potent that they could take advantage of any mistakes the Yanks made. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true, as we saw. But even though the Phils were not playing their best they still took the winningest team in baseball to 6 games.

Bottom line: this Phils team has a chance against anyone, which bodes well for next year. I hope that this WS loss stays with them and motivates them, just like the Rockies sweep in 2007. I am optimistic for 2010.

Thanks to Phillies Nation; I’ve enjoyed the commentary and cameraderie of this site during the playoffs immensely (except for the Yankees trolls).

There’s only one way to be successful in the free agency era. That is to spend money. Whether it be to sign your upcoming free agent or another team’s. Ask any small market team. The Pirates just sent 1/3 of an all star team packing because they have no money to retain their players.
The Yankees didn’t ‘buy’ a WS. They bought players and those players performed. Of our highest paid players only Utley made his mark.
Congratulations to the Yankees on a well executed game plan.
GO PHILS!!!

Just like to point out that the first thing Joe Girardi did at his press conference was congratulate the Phillies on a great Series and the way they have run their organization.
So they didn’t jump to congratulate the Phillies the first chance they got, maybe you could give some of those guys a break after they just had the weight of the world lifted off their shoulders.

Also throughout the whole Series all the Yankee players never showed any disrespect towards the Philly organization always offering stock comments such as “they have a great team over there” and so on, unlike your boy Rollins talkin’ smack before the series even started, Manuel basically calling Pettitte a scrub before he pitched game 3. Philly fans throwing coins at Yankee outfielders. Lets not get into a discussion of class, because both sides have people that need to take a look in the mirror.

It’s all a matter of perspective, Yankee fans will only notice the bad calls against their team, Philly fans will only notice the bad calls against their team. You say Utley didn’t swing, I say Country Joe West punched out A-Rod on a pitch way off the plate and then refused to give the same pitch to Pettitte. A-Rod HR was a double, Howard never touched home plate and so on it goes.

The Yankees played a great team that fought them until the last pitch.

Had to offer up a different view on all the classless allegations.
That’s my take on this series. Good luck next year.

Well, Im not even angry or upset. Its just sad, basically. However, this was the best world series in several years, the others have been 4 or 5 games and not as competetive. The Phillies had a VERY memorable season. They will be back in the World Series next year, you can rest assured of that – providing they make the right moves. The core is still there. But they now know what they need to beat a powerhouse, big money team in the WS. They need even MORE pitching than they have, AND they need consistent hitting up and down the order. You CANT have one or two weak slots in the lineup, you cant have “guys who are in there for their defense so its ok.” Carlos Ruiz, to me, qualifies as someone who is good offensively when the pressure is on and when you need him to be, for the most part. He gets better in the postseason, not worse. He is fine and hell be here for a while. The 7th hitter should not be back.

First of all. Congratulations to the Phillies on a great year. You guys definitely fought hard and gave us all some very nervous moments. My cousins live in Phillie and we had a good time bantering on Facebook through this whole series.

That said, are we seriously still debating this “buying a championship” question? Baseball is big business. Big business requires big money. To get anywhere in any business, you have to spend and spend wisely. Thank God that we have an owner who expects to have a winning team every year and spends and hires accordingly. How can anyone compare this to a Monopoly game for God’s sake. Are we now going to apply this fascist attitude to baseball as well? And hasn’t anyone heard of profit sharing? The Yankees make a lot of money because they earn it and they invest it wisely. They also are required to share that money with every other team in baseball. I just don’t see the point in complaining about anyone…in baseball or otherwise…who earns their money fair and square. They earned it after all, they can spend it the way they choose. Just my honest opinion.

First, I give credit to the Phillies, counting all the titles since 1996, I’d argue this was probably either the first or second best team the Yankees have beaten (96 Braves were also defending champions, better starting pitching, nice bats but not on par with this Phillies team). I also think the Phillies have the last work to do this offseason of any team next year; the young core is back and all proved in some series in the postseason the last two years that they could hit in the clutch. I’d said on here I thought Utley would break out of his power draught but I could never expect him to hit that many homers. Only one was a “cheap” homer too. And I can also say I was shocked by the raw power of Jayson Werth. The first HR he hit off Pettite looked almost like a check swing and the second one was hit so hard it almost looked fake like something in Bases Loaded in Nintendo. Also, the Phillies have no holes in the line up. The “weak” hitters are clutch, everyone knows about Ruiz stepping up in big games but Feliz showed he can hit too on a fastball that really wasn’t that bad from Joba that tied a game late.

I think the Umpiring was in general average to poor in the series. Utley was safe on that double play earlier in the series, but the inning before on the double play Howard didn’t catch the ball. I don’t think Utley went around on the check swing call last night, which affected that inning, but I also think Perdo got a gift on the strike call on A-Rod with one out and the bases loaded.

From a Yankee stand point, I can’t remember a team that had to go through two post season opponents like that (Angels + Phillies) and win. As we all saw last year, the Rays were raw after the Boston series and the Phillies exploited it, jumping on them early and ending it. Pettite was frustrating twice (I always say every team that faces him thinks they should score 5 more runs than they do). It was obvious the Phillies were pitching around A-Rod and Matsui and Posada picked him up, even with Texiera slumping. The “core 4” all played well (aside from Posada’s odd plays… remember the game at the Vet a couple years back where Posada had 3 passed balls in an inning?).

I won’t get to go to this parade unfortunately, bad timing. My wife is due next week.

Congrats to the Phillies and Yankees on great seasons… I have a feeling this matchup may occur again a couple years down the road in the series, or sooner?

Congrats to the Yankees… well deserved title. I feel good saying that we were beaten by the guys that have been there… Jeter, Matsui, Pettitte, Rivera… those guys had a bigger impact on the series than CC, Burnett, A-Rod and Tex. Talent is talent but I would like to think that our guys are cut from the same cloth as guys like Jeter and Rivera…

I challenge you to put the money issue aside and not be bitter. If the Yankees want to spend money, let them. After all, Yankee success is better for baseball. We wouldn’t have had the Phillies/Yankees World Series without the rules of free agency. Is it fair? Probably not, but I still trust that our guys can make a run at a title every year for the next three or four years and win a couple more championships! The teams that aren’t in a position to throw around Yankee money have to build from within and that’s still a formula that can lead to success (Rays, Rockies, Marlins, Red Sox and our Phillies)… thankfully, we have the money to retain our talent.

Go back 14 years (it’s scary to say that…); in 1995 the Atlanta Braves won their first NL East title (prior to 1994, the Braves played in the NL West). As we all know, that would be their first of 11 consecutive NL East titles… remember how it felt to be on the other side of that match up? Remember how hard it was to head into every season knowing that our chances were slim to none? Remember those forgetful years… we sit here today as the proud fans of the three time NLE champs and two time defending National League pennant winners.

We just witnessed our team fall to the New York Yankees in 6 games… it was a tough and frustrating loss to say the least but it’s really hard to be upset with this team. Could we have played better? Sure… but most people, even us fans, recognized that the Yankees were a better team on paper (but don’t let Chase Utley or Jimmy Rollins hear that nonsense). Our guys gave us hope and something to cheer for… we should applaud them for their efforts and tip our caps to the New York Yankees. Hopefully, we’ll meet again next year!

shut up cz. jroll did say 5 then said 6 if they feel generous. stop defending this little piece of garbage. jroll had the worst season and did nothing in the playoffs. he is a big mouth punk. to have pedro pitch in the biggest game killed us. stick to the rotation that got us here. when the yankees hit the ball to the wall in the first then the bomb. he was done. batting practice. happ should of started and gave us more of a chance. you ruined happ forever charlie you dumb hick.

congrats to everyone for a great season… lots to be proud of and some more to look forward to. Thanks also to the people who run this site, you do a great job and i count on it almost every day. It’s professional, classy and sometimes hilarious (commenters, mainly)… good work.

While it hurts a little, the memories and ride that this team gave us this year was amazing. And to know that they’ll be back next year, giving it their all again, most of the guys back, makes me look forward to February and to another amazing season. Counting down to Fenruary already! Go Phils!!!

Very well said. The Yanks were better (money issues or not). Most teams would have folded after the gut punches of Game 3 and ESPECIALLY game 4. The ability of this Phillies team to keep rebounding is just flat out amazing. I see a group of men that sincerely love to play this game, they truly do care.

Jojo – We understand that. I think what people are saying is that despite the fact that it is joke that it could have another connotation to a man who never knew his father. I for one really don’t think he cared a whole lot and don’t think those chants had any bearing on the game.

Its hard to sound anything but bitter when you just lost a World Series to the Yankees and begin discussing the way in which they build their roster. The argument is absolutely a valid one but I’m not naive enough to sit here and actually hope for anything to change. To be honest, would we want that? Its hard to swallow but the Phillies are one of only a few teams who’s payroll is over $100mil. Of course the Yanks top $200mil, but when you have your own television station its hard not to. You have to give them credit. The business model of the Yankees is almost pure perfection. They will perpetually be able to outspend every team in baseball. Very simply put – the more money they spend, the more people watch the YES network, then the more money they make. Credit them for making sure that cycle continues. To say that the Phillies ownership does not want to win is unfair but they are operating with far less revenues and I honestly believe they do what they can. The fact is our front office has such a thinner line to walk. They must be perfect, and they almost were.

The rest of the leagues in this country work just fine with salary caps. Despite the caps the well run organizations always rise to the top. I have no doubt that if baseball operated that way that you still might see the Yankees and Phillies succeed more often than not. I think they both understand how to work within the rules and parameters that they are given and get the most out of the product that they can afford to field.

I’ve said it already, and others have as well. Despite the fact that this argument may exist, the simple fact is that when the game was played on the field that Yankees team outplayed our Phillies team. There really isn’t much more to it than that.

Forget those “Jeff” douches……sore losers….who, obviously, have nothing else to do but to complain. Seriously, had the Phillies won the whole thing again, they probably would have something to bitch about with that.

_____

To the Yankee fans on here who are classy and gracious…..Congratulations on a fine series win. You guys played great and beat us….it’s as simple as that. Here’s hoping we see you again next year to retake our crown.

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To the arrogant Yankee fans……do yourselves a favor and get a life…..and, in the process, maybe get some counseling or something….because chances are the reason you’re so self-serving and arrogant is due to some deeper issues within your very core.

______

To the Fat Lady…..we heard you….but you’re a little off-key. You sounded better LAST year. Practice…..cause we’re gonna need you to sing your heart out NEXT year..

Still deeply proud of the Phellas and the amazing journey they’ve taken us on these past 2 seasons. They will feed off this disappointment, let it fuel the embers glowing in their gut all off-season, and come out like the juggernauts we all know they are and absolutely dominate in 2010.

Does anyone else here think that they could sell on Hamels and trade him? Cliff Lee will get the money, not Hamels. Hamels said and did some things that really do not endear him to me or any Philly fan anymore. He basically quit on his teammates. I think they could quietly shop him in the coming weeks.

I would trade Hamels for the best available deal. Meanwhile, they should move Brown and some lesser prospects for a closer – namely Joakim Soria or Bobby Jenks. If Lidge comes back into form, fine, now you have a deep bullpen. If not, you have a backup plan. Madson sets up still.

They should try to retain Myers because he wont cost much because of his injury and you can use him out of the bullpen too. They will not sign a big money starting pitcher because the money for that goes to Lee. They shoudl trade for a number two starting pitcher – potentially as part of the Hamels deal.

They should try to sign Chone Figgins if they can afford to, otherwise backup plans would be Garret Atkins and Adrian Beltre. I would go after Mark DeRosa too. Matt Stairs is done, so they need a LH Pinch Hitter too who has pop. Pedro Feliz is done though as an everyday player on a playoff team. Get rid of him.

Then Id go out and look for some value relievers to rebuild the core of the bullpen. Romero should be out of here, Park should be resigned.

I just don’t understand how people can go through life getting pleasure out of rooting for the demise of anything… I mean, isn’t it better to root for something than against something? My dad is one of those guys… a crotchity bastard. He doesn’t really root for anyone; the only time he says anything is when the team is losing and then suddenly he acts like he knows everything. Pisses me off to no end… I don’t sports with my dad for that reason.

For this next comment, I’m speaking to the Jeff’s on here… the guys that claim to be fans… the guys who are just coming on here to be a$$ holes can take a hike.

Ask yourself why you are happiest and loudest when our team is losing… why don’t we hear from you when we win? In my opinion, that’s not fanhood… that’s being a scrooge. If you hide when the team wins and make a point to say something every time the team loses, that makes you more a fan of losing… well, thankfully, this team WINS more than it LOSES so your voices have become quieter and quieter. I don’t read gameday posts because every strikeout of every inning gives you guys a reason to voice their opinion.

One more point… I think that the two best fan bases in baseball are the Yankees and Phillies and this series proved that. Their fans are knowledgeable and respectful. There are bad apples in every basket but for the most part, it was a fun series to chat about. I think that we’re more passionate but they’re more “businesslike.” It’s interesting how a team and a fan base can be so much alike…

I’ll leave the second guessing and speculation to others. This was a great ride for Phillies fans and this website is my favorite one to read with knowledgable, well thought out opinions from loyal fans. Sure we wanted to win another crown, but this team gave me such pleasure this year. I’m very proud to be a fan and to sport Phillies colors and logos, moreso than at any other time in my lifetime of rooting on the Phillies. That includes my boyhood when the Phils started to show promise with Frank Lucchesi and a very young Bowa, Doyle, and future Hall of Famers Schmidt and Carlton.

History will prove this team to be one of the best, if not the best Phillies team. It’s one that everyone can easily root for.

I am disappointed this season is over and that the Phillies fell short of the overall goal. I for one and anxious to travel to different cities to root on the Phils next year, planning some vacations to do just that.

I loved how during the Race 2 Repeat by how many ex-Phillies players cheered them on just like us regular guys and gals.

The excitement that the Phillies brought us drew casual fans onto the bandwagon and made the town a baseball town once again. I don’t resent the bandwagoneers one bit. Along with most of the fans on this board, the passion for this team runs deep.

Okay, now I’ll read the comments and story line. I just had to share how I feel.

Consider this… the Eagles are playing the Cowboys this week to determine who will be the outright leader in the NFC East and if you listen to 610 WIP, there has been ZERO talk about the Eagles up until today… that’s what this team has done.

Taking pleasure in other peoples misery…they have a name for people like that, its called terrorist.

I am so sick of the classless people that show up on these boards. It’s unbelievable. Sure, there are classless Philly fans out there. The people chanting “a$$hole” at games is not someone I would be proud to say is a Phillies fan. The environment at Yankee stadium was pretty weak and pathetic, especially compared to what was at CBP but in the same vain, I didn’t see Yankee fan’s chanting some of the crap that Philadelphia fans were chanting.

I am proud of how much the Phillie fans supported and showed up for their team but I am not proud of some of the things they say and do.

I come to this board because I want to talk to other Phillies fans, not the people who go to games to get wasted and yell curse words and be disrespectful. It’s the same reason I do not post on ESPN boards as they relate to the Phillies. I don’t want an open forum, I want something to chat with other true Phillies fans about. Not trolls, or just disrespectful people that take pleasure in baiting others. I will never for the life of me understand how people can be so rude and disrespectful to each other. I am certainly not a saint but I am not an a$$hole either.

I wish PN would find a few people willing to moderate the board so that some of this crap is not even on here. No one here wants to get into these pointless debates. I am not saying this board should be off limits to non Phillies fans. Clearly there are fans of other teams(grumpyminer) as an example who are respectful and in return respected by the other people who frequent this board but for the rest of you who are here with the sole purpose of starting arguments and being disrespectful, please, just go somewhere else. All you are doing is feeding into the preconceived notions that others have for you, your team and your city. And that’s not fair to the others who root for your team or live in your city to be judged by what I believe to be the minority.

What a good phight it was. I’m proud of our team given what they had to overcome all year to get to this point. I’m excited to see what next year has to bring – especially what the fresh young talent (Drabek, Taylor) will add.

And all you jealous Mets-loving losers – maybe you’ll get to see a glimpse of the postseason again someday… in 2012.

As much as I don’t want to admit it, the Yankees were the better team for this series. We will improve and even my Yankees friends say that we are the class of the NL. Congratulations to you Yankee fans and we will see you next year.

For the most part, the posters on here are a real pleasure to “talk” to every day. I look forward to it. Thank you to all of you for making my days a little more enjoyable….a little easier to get through. I hope you guys stick around this winter for some fun hot stove talk..

The occasional “Jeff” types that show up on here are hard to communicate with and I’m glad that they’re the exception and not the norm. I’m glad you’re fans…but seriously….take a hard look at yourselves….Do you really want to be a “crotchety bastard” like Chuck P refers to his own father as?? Do you want YOUR kids thnking that of you??

Hey Misery… folding is quitting and you can’t say we quit. Maybe we ran out of gas but there was no quit in this team. We went after Burnett in game 5 and put plenty of runners on base in game 6… the difference in this series was Hamels’ ineffectiveness and our inability to drive in runs with men on base.

Jimmy Rollins was quiet for most of the season. I think his WS average was higher than his season average. Howard strikes out and drives in runs… that’s what he does… our team wins despite that. The fact that he broke that record is news to no one but this team knows how to win when he’s cold and they know how to jump on his back when he’s hot. Vic struggled… Werth hit two homeruns against Pettitte; I’d say that he proved his worth.

We had to beat CC twice and Burnett/Pettitte once… we couldn’t get to Pettitte. Hamels isn’t right- his fastball velocity is down which makes his changeup less effective. Happ was coming off of a late season injury and Blanton is not the guy you want on the mound against the Yankees lineup… we went with what we had which was the Goat.

Lee has NEVER pitched on short rest… the WS is NOT the time when you experiment with something like that.

I think the last thing we as fans should be doing is overreacting and suggesting that we sign this guy and that guy and dump so and so. The simple fact is that throughout this postseason each player contributed and that is the sign of a true TEAM. I honestly believe they will field the exact same starting 9 next year, and I’m perfectly fine with that. I don’t think there are too many teams that wouldn’t love to have Pedro Feliz as their 7 hole hitter and dominant defensive 3rd basemen. Not every player is going to be an all-star but role players are important too. I also don’t expect the front office to sign a bunch of high priced bullpen arms. One would be nice but next year we will have a healthy Romero and Bastardo as lefties. There will need to be decisions made about Park, Condrey & Durbin but Lidge & Madson will return. Let us not forget about one very interesting name – Scott Matheison. He is future closer coming off of two Tommy John surgeries who is throwing upper 90’s heat with a absolutely nasty power slider in the Arizona Fall League right now. I expect him to be the Phillies ‘rookie’ that has the most impact next year.

Where to start? Both Blanton and Martinez (in Game 2) put the Phillies in a position to win. The bats didn’t come through. So be it. Sabathia took an L and a no-decision. Burnett was brilliant once, but melted down in his next start. There’s simply no reason, based on those performances, to definitively say Girardi was right and Manuel was wrong in their decisions on starting rotations.

As for bullpens: Sure, Rivera was lights-out, but Hughes and Chamberlain were shaky. I thought Park and Madson were more or less solid. Happ performed pretty well under (for him) unusual circumstances. As a staff, the Phillies’ bullpen was better than I expected it would be.

Orignal Chuck P pretty much summed up the situation with the Phillies, Misery….I understand completely….And I understand that you’re the STUPID-ASS on here…I’m not even sure who you’re for and who you’re against….that’s how utterly STUPID your posts are..

Great job everyone! Thank you so much Phillies and Phillies Nation…As depressed as I am today I am just as proud of this team as what more can you ask for out of these guys. I’ll bet if you ask any fan of any other team outside of New York that they would trade their “hometown 9″ for ours. But the funny thing is that I would lose with this team any day of the week rather than win with that Yankee team and I give them their credit, but they are not the “TEAM” that the Phillies are. Also, I give Amaro a ton of respect that I never thought I would by the way.

Key to this series… ex-Game 1, the Phillies were 7-46 with RISP (.152) and accumulated 5 two out RBI’s. The Yankees were 13-52 (.250) over that stretch with 9 two out RBI’s. We put men on base but they came up with more clutch hits in the close games… call it not putting them away or call it clutch on their part; whatever you call it, that’s what it is. But it wasn’t quit…

Jeff, who added the “G” to his name after the Phillies won the 5th game so we wouldn’t think it was him, is THE most negative person on here. He is on gameday ALWAYS bashing the Phillies, and he’s still at it today. Jeff, I have held my tongue this whole season while you consistently berate Charlie and anyone else on this team who happens to have a bad game. You are NOT a true Philles fan, you are the ONLY fan on here today (besides Yankee trolls) talking trash. You are a royal pain in the a$$, and this blog would be much better without you.

There, got THAT off my chest!

Grrrrumps, thank you again for being the classiest non-Phillie fan on here, we love you, baby! And if the PN gang gets together, I for one , would enjoy meeting you.

I really don’t feel too down today, I know we have a great team, most of them will be back, there are a few moves to make. But I feel very confident that our guys will be trying to knock the Yankees off that pedestal in 2010.

Thanks again, Phillies, and PN, for a great ride in ’09.

Oh, and finally, to Chuck, who before the series started, said I was wrong when I called Yankee fans arrogant and you thought they were classy and fun to talk to. Still holding on to that, lol?

I’m outta here (no pun intended)… let the scrooges have their day. Once the glory of misery wears off, they’ll go back into hiding. To the Ed’s and Chuck’s and Georgie’s and Morris’ and Harry Kalas’ and even the GRRRRRRRUMMMPY MINERS, it’s been a great season and I look forward to chatting again soon.

STILL DEFENDING… BACK TO BACK NL PENNANTS AND THREE TIME NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST CHAMPS!!!

I agree. I think I’ll just check out for a while. Let the fans of the Yankees enjoy their championship as they should, they certainly deserved it. When some the ridiculousness and trash talk and disrespectful behavior has worn off I will check back in. It’s been a fun season and a great ride. 3 months until Spring Training starts.

Its strange for me to have my worst loss of my Phillies Phan life come during my favorite season of all time after 31 years of pulling for the Fightin’s. This is a season I will cherish for the rest of my life. I love rooting for these guys. 101 days ’till pitchers and catchers report.

Wow, what is wrong with this picture? It’s so odd that the day after winning the WS, there’s tons of Yankee fans on a Phillies blog. Like Don, the last thing I was doing last year at this time was searching the web for Rays sites to go on. It tells me that the Yankee fans were MUCH more scared of the Phillies than they are letting on, so that bodes really well for us next year.

I’ll talk to you guys later, it should soon be nap time for our fair friends from the rotten apple.

Yeah, Don…I’m done responding to all this sh!t from these so-called Yankee fans…

I, too, celebrated when the Phillies won the WS…and I’ll celebrate now, too….because this is MY team and I’m proud to be a fan…win or lose. And, in my opinion, these guys are winners…every one of them.

3 NL East titles.
2 NL Pennants…back-to-back
1 WS Crown

…And a whole lot of enjoyment and excitement along the way….and to look forward to…

Did we win, I was at the stadium last night, but i was on my blackberry instead of actually watching the game.

Oh cool we won, ok, I’ll be online all day today talking about how much i love bagels, and the Yankees. In that order. And I’ll make jokes about your city being Philthy, aka Philthadelphia. I’m creative like that.

I’ll be at the parade too, but I won’t really watch it at all, I’ll just show up in my new #27 jersey, and i’ll be texting people the whole time about how much I love that hip new Jay-Z song about the Empire State

It says a lot that on a day that you should be out celebrating your team’s victory with your friends and loved ones (wait, you don’t have any right!?), that you instead have plenty of time to waste on this board trying to cause trouble.

Your posts do nothing to make us feel bad about ourselves, our team or the city of Philly. They just serve to make you look as pathetic, lonely and miserable as you surely are. Troll away losers!

Hey Phillies “fans”, blue jay fan here (yes there are some left) just wanted to rub it in again, been a long time but hows it feel to lose a world series again? Ahhh, some things never change by reading these posts. Class and Philly (two work that will never be associated with each other) Congratulations to losing to the classiest club in the league!

It was a great season. There is a lot to look forward to with this club. Hamels will be back. He just threw too many innings last year and couldn’t rebound. If Blantan is resigned the Phils won’t go after a starter. Lee, Hamels, Blantan, Happ and Moyer/Kendrick/Dravek is plenty. We need more bull pen help. IMO, Scott Mathiason and JC ROmero will be an integral part of the Phils run next year. We need a stud righty out of the Pen to go along with Madson and Lidge. One more righty bat to augment the line up. I think we’ve seen the last of Stairs and Bruntlett. Bring on the winter meetings!

Joemama,
You are right about the congrats to the Phils from the Yanks Manager, Its actually Selig I am most disappointed with. He came out and presented the trophy and acted as if there was only one team that played.
In Philly last year he came and congratulated the Rays, then presented the WS trophy.
He is all about the ratings for baseball, and nothing else. The Yankees are great press, cause you either hate them or love them, very little in the middle.

WTF!!! No really WTF!!!! This Yankee f-ing troll keeps fing with us and my responses get deleted? Why? My team just lost the f-ing world series. Sorry I am not sitting here sipping tea from a cup with a pinkie extended going “Cheerio old chaps, wasn’t it a bloody good a$$fuk!ng your lads delivered to ours. Made them squeal like pigs, they did. Cheers!” These c0cks do are not here for good sportsmanship and intelligent discussion of the sport. They are here to gloat and rub it in and I say f-ck them! F-UCK them sideways. And let me f-ing vent a little.

I guess any team that doesn’t win it all is considered a failure but obviously there are different levels of failure. Winning the NL East and the NL easily are huge steps but we fell one step short.

The two major reason the Phils lost the series was because they didn’t have a solid number 2 who could keep a lead in game 3 and their closer imploded in game 4. Other reasons are the Phils did not have a DH because there is no room on an NL roster for a DH. It turns out that the Yankees DH won the MVP. An NL team could never have a DH win the MVP because NL rosters need more pitchers than AL rosters. The bench overall did not produce at all for the Phils not only in the series but for most of the year. Charlie stuck with his starters so much because he couldn;t rely on the bench and that may have tired them out.

It was a fine season and quite an accomplishment to get back to back World Series appearances. I can’t wait to start reading about potential off season moves with my fellow phillies nationers.

Random guy and rex, STFU! Coming in ahead of 28 other teams is not the same as coming in last. Winning the NL pennant is an accomplishment. So screw you trolls. It is not f-ing the same as Pirates and Nationals. Stop dismissing what Phillies accomplished you c0cks!

The two main reasons the Phillies lost is because, other than Lee, they had no consistent pitching and, other than Utley, they had no consistent hitting.

Whining NL wusses crying about the DH (while all the sports commentators say its a much bigger advantage to the NL in the NL park that there is no DH) is akin to whining about the Yankees willingness to invest in their own team while other owners pocket the profits.

Real Fan – I won’t dismiss what the Philthys accomplished. I’ve already said they’re the very BEST losers. I wouldn’t say they’re like the Pirates or the Nats… except that they lost. The Pirates and Nats just had the decency not to drag it on and make their fans pay for so many playoff games just to get around to losing.

Real Fan – vent pal, vent… but be pissed at your GM and team, howard was a bum this series, so was big mouth (i mean rollins)…. Blanton? really? joe blanton was your answer; and PEDRO? my goodness Pedro? be mad at those guys, they failed you and their fanbase, manual was out-managed… what else can be said?

Bottom line is that I love this team, we have a great group of players on this roster. I think a rematch isn’t out of the question.

What’s the deal with Cole? I really think his comments were blown out of proportion, if you listen to the whole thing you understand what he was referring to, and you realize that, just two minutes before that, he was talking about how badly he wants to win this. He started the year with elbow dilemmas and really hasn’t been right at all. I wouldn’t trade him, I think it’s more likely that he’ll return to form than fall off the truck. Feliz has been a fair player, obviously that’s a spot where you could improve. And yes, the bench could be stronger, although it surely isn’t fair that most [or maybe all?] of Stairs’ ABs were against Mo.

im old enough to remember baseball in the late 70s
and 2009 baseball sucks worse than soccer

no athletes
everybody begging for a walk
no good outfielders who can chase down a fly ball
almost no base stealing
pitchers who wont challenge hitters
managers only letting pitchers pitch to one batter
free agency ruins teams
tim mcarver

Ya see as long as you say things like “F the Yankee cheaters” and schoolyard nonsense like that, you will continue to lower your team and city. A little less bravado would be good right now. The Yanks are the greatest team in sports …. period. Not a flame, just the truth. Hats off to the Phillies for a good season.. just couldn’t stop the Yanks.

the yankees have such respect for their rings that they would tear down what should be a historical monument so they could make a bigger corporate playground. i bet 75% of the fans in attendance last night never even heard of Murder’s Row and that their was actually two…the 1927 and the original one in 1918.

@ Ryan, the first thing Girardi did in the post game interview was congratulate the Phillies and complement your team

@ Rollins, he needs to shut his trap. The Yankees have been the better team ALL YEAR in almost every if not every category and we were still the better team in the playoffs.

The Phillies are a tough team, and i wouldn’t take anything away from what they’ve accomplished this year, but when you just got beaten by obviously a better all around team, maybe its time to shut your mouth (Rollins) and own up to it. Good series guys, see you again next year. And, come on, whats with the “Yankee Sucks” chants, we dont bother with any “Phillies suck” chants at Yankee stadium…

Great year boys! This is the best bunch of baseball players that I have ever watched, and guess what we get to do it all over again with the same players with minor adjustments, and a PREPARED Hamels. Also, remember that we defended our crown to the very end and the only the team to beat us was a team that paid $208,097,414. But if we played the way we are capable, they wouldn’t have even beat us. But we didn’t and the Yanks did…so they deserve it! But, the Phillies are still the best team in baseball in my eyes.

Folks the Yankees payroll is so bloated that I dont even know how their fans can enjoy rooting for a team that is basically a video game. They bought the best first baseman and pitcher on the market and are paying 50 million dollars more than the Red Sox are in salary. Lets see them do it with a payroll in line with the rest of baseball. To outspend everyone by such a wide margin and then to boast that you are the best team is a joke.

A few hours of mourning for me, but I am very proud of how this team defended it’s crown. Congrats to the Yanks they were better then us for this week and deserve to win. I tip my cap to them.
3 NL East titles, 2 NL Crowns, 1 World Championship in 3 years and more to come. This team is built to win for years to come, and the FO has shown it willingness to get things done. I would love a repeat WS show down with the Yanks. The starting Pitching is fine, Cole will come back, just an off year for him. Lee, Hamels, Blanton, Happ, and a few guys viaing for #5. I think the pen, and Lidge will bounce back, Chopper full time in pen, JC back healthy and for a full season. Will need another left hander, and some bench help from. Fransico, can spell Ibenez and Werth. I also think Dobbs will come back and have a better year. I Keep Peter Happy, and make a run again next y;ear

bob – a bit condensing….you can take crap from us and we can take it from you. Taunts are part of the game.
“The Yanks are the greatest team in sports …. period” Considering most of the world plays soccer i think that belongs to Brazil.

How can anyone be disappointed in Bud Selig’s trophy presentation? Disappointment is when one doesn’t get what one expects, and I can’t think of anyone who ever expects good things from Selig.

A few different circumstances, such as better health, a couple of breaks, a few balls not hit right at fielders, and the series results could have been different. The fact remains that the Yanks won. Matsui destroyed Phil’s pitching, they prevented the timely hits, their closer performed. And who knows what health issues THEIR players had to face.

I congratulate them, just as I congratulate the Phils for an amazing season long effort which barely fell short.

they need to get a true lead off hitter because rollins is garbage…he runs his mouth but backs it up with nothing…he stunk most of the season leading off and stunk in the playoffs he’s not leading off on most teams and feliz needs to go his glove is mediocre and his bat is pathetic.

One more thing before I get to work, The Phillies did fight through injuries especially in the Pen, and Raul is obviously hurt he will be going under the knife. I can not wait for April to roll around and be at opening day to cheer these guys on.
About Yankee fans, I was at game 5 at the Bank. All but two of them were respectful. I live in Vermont that has a lot of Yankee fans, and compared to Red Sox fans which also live here they are much worse. And like a comment before, I like the fact that are season is not a failure if we do not win the WS like it is for the Yanks.
I enjoyed the banter on philliesnation, and was impressed with the mostly positive coments today. 2010 here we come

they need to get a true lead off hitter because rollins is garbage…he runs his mouth but backs it up with nothing…he stunk most of the season leading off and stunk in the playoffs he’s not leading off on most teams and feliz needs to go his glove is mediocre and his bat is pathetic…

And as I write that George slip in his absurd comments, Yes JRoll had an off year, and they still went to the WS. He will be back and he will not shut up. Feliz is a way above average fielder, and can be a better hitter. This team just went back to back WS. Keep them together and healthy and they will be there again. George go back and cheer for the Mets

Who knew there were so many Yankees fans pissed off enough about winning a world series to post of a phillies’ community to feel better about themselves. I know after last year (once I got off broad st all limbs intact) my only concern was drinking more beer and singing as many rounds of we are the champions as I could … hugging complete strangers and screaming at the top of my lungs random celebratory phrases. It was euphoric. Enough so, that I certainly wasn’t going to go home, get online, and start posting crap on the rays blogs.

Regardless. Thank you to the Phillies and to my fellow fans. Five years ago, ten years ago, hell even during the 93 season, if anyone would have told me that we’d win 3 divisions, 2 pennants and a world series… I can’t say I woulda believed you. But, here we are and looking towards (and I think in pretty damn good position to) winning a 4th consecutive division title.

Jimmy Rollins said the Series in 5 games, you are correct, but, then said he’d let it go 6 games if he felt sorry for the Yankees. This is NOT a classy player, just a trash talker, that couldn’t back up his own words. The Phillies are a great team, that scared the hell out of me, and many more Yankees fans. Given the age and talent on your team, I’m sure these teams will meet again, real soon. Remember the Yankees had big pitching problems also, but, Girardi found a way to make it work, had his decisions back-fired, he would most likely be looking for a new job next season. As Yogi Berra once said; “Making predictions is difficult, Especially about the future.”

Congrats to the Phillies on a great season and 3 straight playoff apperences. Unlike the Braves of the late 90’s, this team never goes down without a fight. You guys should be proud of this team and of these players. Good luck in 2010 see you in october

I’m so tired of hearing about the yankees payroll.
First off all you bitter phillies fans must realize, george… you know the yankees owner isnt even among the top 5 riches baseball owners. why is this, because he’s not afraid to invest in his buisness. lets face it this is a business. investing into your compnay is how you become sucessful. every team in the mlb can have the yankees line up. this is america go bank rupt trying but you can have it. eg. hershey went bankrupt twice before he became sucessful. and matsui the man who spank the phillies the man with bad knees a past broken wrist, hip problems and the list goes on came down on philly your potetic mini city and crushed yous like the GODZILLA he is. grease ball utley was straight wack pedro pissed his pants and rollins was wearing a diaper and a pacifier. philly fans did not deserve this. your worst fan net in the world the most bitter rude crowd. i’m sure your mayor was relieved you lost cause they went broke last year trying clean up after you dogs destroyed your own city. no respect for you all. after beating up that dad with a ny jersey in front of his son. all you guys no how to do is throw beer on opposing fans. grow up and get some class. and oh yeah new cheese steak baby

Guess the clock is wrong on here ahh?….Yankees….he should have just said Filthes bloated payroll he got right….it too bad no one can appreciate the baseball is meant to be played…..you guys look forward to next year but I don’t think anything will change …here’s what I do get rid of Jfraud he’s a big mouth joke …..Hamels….nope no way not a team player and he aint gonna change other then diapers..and calling his grandmother in La la land…Pedro gone….Ibanez is gonna be out to pasture…Stairs star gazing in Canada….Howard will set more strike out records…..Meyers,Iyre,Lidge all should be traded while you can still get something for them other then a batboy….Hap and Lee…..ya need 2 more…Romero he should go back on steriods he really helped out ah?…you guys I don’t think are gonna come close to what you did last year…..this year was a fluke …you were’nt that good…Utley the only bright spot …hey how about that double play…in the off season he’s going with Ringling Bros. as a juggler and Shane is gonna be a clown….as for the YANKEES they SUCK! oh yeah RIGHT DOWN BROADWAY @ THE PARADE OF CHAMPIONS in NYC…..27th TIME …..27…what I thought was cool was CBP had bring your pet night alot this year….”I thought” then someone told me no they never had “pet night ” in CBP…..those were the women!!!!!!!…..boy was I fooled. Well maybe you guys should have a real pet night it might help…at least it would make the women look good. The BEER and CHEER FRONT RUNNER FANS…………………..LOOSERS or as they say in Filthy PLOOSERS….oh yeah lets get a portable tissue dispenser in the dugout for COLE and a phone so he can call his Grand mother between innings.

As a 4 decade Met fan I have no idea what I’m doing here other than to extend congratulations to the Phillies and their fans on another great season. It may hurt now but you’ve got a great young core of talent, your stocked in the minors and you’ve been the standard for how to get it done the past 3 years in the NL. Your guys play hardnosed baseball the way it oughta be. Take solice, you will be back since I have the strong sense that this winning thing is part of your teams DNA. As for my guys who the hell knows, and besides that’s not why I’m here as this past year has proven they are not worth the keystrokes. Even our supposed standard bearer blog “metsblog” has become an elitist trash heap of commentary restricted to a few select fans authorized to post. Lastly, Utley was safe at first, what was the deal with the strike zone in game 2 and as I said to my better half, “the Yanks were fortunate they got this done before the flu bug finished running through the Phil’s clubhouse”. Enjoy the offseason, take pride in your success, and I look forward to hating you again in spring.

Nice PC comun Pat.. lots of positives to reflect on.. lots of good WS experience across the board.. however, other the Matsui, who seems a decent regular guy, and who I swear makes me think of Bears’ back Matt Suey every time i hear his name.. other than that..

to quote the memorable Tanner Boyle from Bad News Bears (ca. 1976)..

“hey yankees, you can take your apology and trophy and shove it straight up your A$$..”

in case you missed it the first time, it’s at 5:11 on this YouTube clip:

Hey SPANKY YANKEE … I am a Yankee fan and you embarrass me. You are really a disgrace. Perhaps you suffer from some type of mental illness but I do know something for sure: YOU ARE NOT RIGHT UPSTAIRS. Crawl back into your hole

DUDE I’M FIRST ONLINE FOR THE TAUNTS I’M FROM THE BRONX WE CREATED THAT CRAP. I’LL NEVER FORGET MY FIRST BURNED REDSOX HAT AT YANKEE STADIUM AS A KID. AWESOME STUFF. WHEN YOU LEAVE 4 YEAR OLDS TO STAIR AT THERE DAD BEAT UP ON CITIZENS PARKING LOT.
THATS SAD.
DONT CRAP ON YOUR OWN FRONT LAWN

Fair Point Patty NY on your crew. But really, as an NL East opponent my team & owners have done nothing to earn respect. Mets baseball IQ is non existent ie baserunning 101 on the field and not ignoring the slotting system in the FO,etc. And as I said I’ll hate them again in spring. Just showing props to an NL east rival who I was rooting for to win so that if my boys actually do something to come back they could have been going for the dethrown of a WS champ. The Yank’s don’t need props they’ve got hardware.

AMEN TO THAT I’M NOT A PART OF THE PHILLY BLOG COMMUNITY
CONGRATS ON BEING THE 2ND BEST
“CAN’T LIVE WITH YA AND CANT LIVE WITHOUT YA” MAY DALLAS KICK YOUR FILTHY SEAGLES THIS WEEKEND. AS MUCH AS I HATE DALLAS. WELL ACTUALLY HOPEFULLY ITS A TIE. LOL
DON’T FORGET GIANTS WON THE SUPERBOWL WITH A 10-6 RECORD
PEACE
ALL FUN A ND GAMES GUYS
SEE YA SOMETIME NEXT YEAR

People like Yankees 2009, Patty in Ny and Misery whatever his name is are a bunch of greasy WOP morons from New York. Patty, being a woman, definitely has a mustache and arm hair darker than a gorillas. Coming here to talk smack after you bought yourselves a championship.

Let’s play a game of Monopoly. Everyone starts with 1,500 dollars and I start with 80 million. Then I’ll run around like a loser moron and yell about how I was the best player.

LIKE I SAID BEFORE STEINBRETTER
IS NOT EVEN THE AMONG THE TOP 5 RICHES OWNERS
WHY IS THIS?
BECAUSE HE IS NOT AFRAID TO INVEST IN HIS BUSINESS
ANY MLB TEAM CAN HAVE LINE UP LIKE US
INVEST
LIKE THE PHILLIES AINT DISHING OUT MILLIONS
GOT TO SPEND MONEY
AND I’M A DUDE BUT GOOD JOKE PATTY IS A COMMON NICK NAME FOR IRISH NYKERS
MATSUI THE CRIPPLED BROKEN KNEE BROKEN WRIST HIP PROBLEMED GODZILLA CRUSHED YOU

GUYS I HAVE TO DO THIS
THE CRAP YOUR “NATION” GAVE ME ALL POST SEASON
YOUR LOUDEST CRAP TALKERS AROUND
YOU CAN DISH BUT CANT TAKE IT
TYPICAL PHILLY
IN ALL HONESTY FUN AND GAMES
I GIVE UP SOME RESPECT
AFTER GAME 1 I THOUGHT IT WQAS ASWEP FOR PHILLY EVERY GAME I WAS SCARRED OF PHILLY
THE BEST TEAM BY FAR TO PLAY THE YANKS IN YEARS
HATS OFF
PEACE I WONT BOTHER YOU ALL TILL NEXT YEAR

I feel alot of hatred here…why?..I’m just telling the truth .. MR .Hollywood needs to get his script right and stop acting….THE YANKEES WIN AS A ORGANIZATION…they run a fine business, pay for their own stadiums..OUR FOLLOWING IS INTERNATIONAL.our fame is WORLD KNOWN…Its about running a business…and baseball is more business than sport…WE ARENT THE MARLINS WINNING THE WORLD SERIS TWICE AND THEN HAVING A FIRE SALE….thats just sloppy management..its what separates the haves from the havenots..and right now we have #27 because of Everyone performing their jobs exceptionally
from the front office ,to the accountants to the batboys to The players on the field like it or not we belive in Perfection

Yeah the Brazilians can’t stop talking about Yankees while watching the World Cup qualifying games… in the Sudan people are buying Yankees hats at record rates and letting their children starve while the Brits were so impressed that they stopped playing cricket and want to play baseball like the Yankees. In Indonesia they at cutting down the last teak trees to turn commemorative bats for all the Yankees players..even the minor leaguer and I just heard the Chinese are now using little Yankee bats for chopsticks, Get this, apparently the new thing in Paris is having your portrait done as centaur….and slap my crap, get this Jean-Paul Gaultier just announced his new Yankee apparel fall collection for next year. Evenmore awe inspiring, South Africa stopped all work on their current stadium for the World Cup and decided to to do replica of Yankee Stadium, where they will play the YES network non stop. Also i heard that Cuban and Venezulan classrooms now use the Yankees organization in propaganda flims about the excesses of capitalism. On the reilgious front, in Rome the Pope has decided to take down the Carravagio’s painting “The Entombment of Christ” that hung in the Vatican Pinacoteca and put A-Rod as centaur portrait in it place; he has also announced the Yankees symbol must be printed on the all communion wafers or it cannot be consecrated.

oregon111 – yeah a contact hitter is definitely necessary. I will concede Jeter is the best lead off hitter around and good at managing the Yankees defensive positions. By the way if you are from Oregon or live there, and this is provided you’d have a retractable dome, I think you should get a baseball team or buy the Marlins or the Rays. Nobody goes to those games and in the Marlins case still won’t even with the new dome. I think baseball would do well there.

Damn, awesome website. I actually came across this on Bing, and I am happy I did. I will definately be coming back here more often. Wish I could add to the post and bring a bit more to the table, but am just taking in as much info as I can at the moment.